1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to design and manufacturing of transportation vehicles. More particularly, the present invention relates to design and manufacturing of transportation vehicles having enhanced safety and security.
2. Description of the Related Art
In addition to designing and manufacturing transportation vehicles with an intent to provide transportation vehicles within enhanced levels of comfort, convenience, utility and economy, transportation vehicle manufacturers typically also endeavor to design and manufacture transportation vehicles which also provide a transportation vehicle owner, a transportation vehicle operator or a transportation vehicle occupant with an enhanced level of safety and an enhanced level of security.
While designing and manufacturing transportation vehicles with enhanced levels of comfort, convenience, utility and economy certainly presents to a transportation vehicle manufacturer competing and contradictory challenges which are often difficult to simultaneously satisfy or reconcile, designing and manufacturing transportation vehicles to provide a transportation vehicle owner, a transportation vehicle operator or a transportation vehicle occupant with an enhanced level of safety or an enhanced level of security often presents a unique challenge to a transportation vehicle manufacturer insofar as it is often not entirely clear to a transportation vehicle manufacturer, a transportation vehicle owner, a transportation vehicle operator or a transportation vehicle occupant the nature or extent of various types of transportation vehicle safety breaches and transportation vehicle security breaches which might present a diminished level of safety and a diminished level of security of a particular transportation vehicle with respect to a particular transportation vehicle owner, a particular transportation vehicle operator or a particular transportation vehicle occupant.
Nonetheless, notwithstanding an ambiguity with respect to the nature or extent of various types of transportation vehicle safety breaches and transportation vehicle security breaches which are plausibly of concern to a transportation vehicle owner, a transportation vehicle operator or a transportation vehicle occupant, it is generally recognized that being involuntarily confined, as a confined occupant, within a confined space within a transportation vehicle, such as but not limited to a confined trunk space within a passenger transportation vehicle, typically presents a safety breach (generally under circumstances where such confinement is accidental) or a security breach (generally under circumstances where such confinement is deliberate) to a transportation vehicle owner, a transportation vehicle operator or a transportation vehicle occupant.
It is thus towards the goal of providing, in general, transportation vehicles with enhanced levels of safety and security that the present invention is directed. It is similarly also towards the goal of providing, more particularly, transportation vehicles with enhanced levels of safety and security with respect to involuntary confinement of confined occupants within confined spaces within those transportation vehicles.
Various apparatus and methods have been disclosed in the art of transportation vehicle design, transportation vehicle development and transportation vehicle manufacturing for providing transportation vehicles with enhanced levels of safety and security, in particular with respect to involuntary confinement of confined occupants within confined spaces within transportation vehicles.
For example, Aaron, in U.S. Pat. No. 5,745,030, discloses an anti-carjacking system that employs multiple sensors and multiple enablement/disablement relays which in an aggregate provide a transportation vehicle within which an occupant is less likely to be involuntarily confined. Similarly, David, in U.S. Pat. No. 5,859,479, Penny, Jr., in U.S. Pat. No. 6,018,292 and Tomah et al., in U.S. Pat. No. 6,024,388, each disclose, at least in part, a trunk lock release mechanism which allows for release of a trunk lock latch by an occupant confined, either accidentally or deliberately, within a confined trunk space within a transportation vehicle, such as to provide for enhanced safety or enhanced security of the confined occupant with respect to the transportation vehicle.
Desirable in the art of transportation vehicle design, development and manufacturing are additional apparatus and methods that may be employed to provide transportation vehicles with enhanced safety and security, more particularly as directed towards apparatus and methods that may be employed to alleviate accidental or deliberate involuntary confinement of a confined occupant within a confined space within a transportation vehicle.
It is towards the foregoing object that the present invention is directed.
In accord with the object towards which the present invention is directed, there is provided by the present invention: (1) an apparatus for detecting a confined occupant within a confined space within a transportation vehicle; (2) the transportation vehicle having assembled therein the apparatus for detecting the confined occupant within the confined space within the transportation vehicle; and (3) a method for detecting the confined occupant within the confined space within the transportation vehicle.
In conjunction with each of the foregoing apparatus, transportation vehicle and method, there is employed: (1) a minimum of one carbon dioxide sensor; and (2) a computing means having programmed therein an algorithm appropriate for detecting a confined occupant within a confined space within a transportation vehicle based upon an analysis of a carbon dioxide concentration measured within the confined space within the transportation vehicle while employing the minimum of one carbon dioxide sensor. Similarly in conjunction with each of the foregoing apparatus, transportation vehicle and method, there may additionally be employed a means for opening the confined space within the transportation vehicle based upon detecting the confined occupant within the confined space, wherein the means for opening the confined space is effected by the computing means having programmed therein the algorithm.